I’ve been catching up on comedy: Flight of the Conchords (amusing mumblecore with novelty songs, best appreciated in small doses) and the mindbending The Mighty Boosh (hilarious, surreal, bizarre, brilliant). It’s interesting they both exist as radio, stage and TV series.

Upon re-reading my previous post, I realized that each ‘chapter’ could have a (tongue-in-cheek) title and bit of explanation:

1. The ‘American Top 40′ years: Most of my exposure to new music was either from listening to popular radio, my older sister or a classmate or the occasional middle school dance.
2. The ‘Radical Romper Room’ years: Most of my exposure was from a late-night, local radio show which showcased ‘alternative rock’ and ‘modern music.’ I used to stay up long enough to start recording it on Sundays, then listen to the tape the whole week and note what I liked.
3. The ‘120 Minutes’ years: Same as above, but leads were garnered from videotaping the late-night show on MTV and tracking down what I liked.
4. The ‘long haired’ years: I bought (and sold) a lot of CDs at local record stores, taking a chance on whether I would like it or not.
5. The ‘underground (aka rave/chill-out room)’ years: I acquired music as inspiration for my work — music as the soundtrack to my life.
6. The ‘post-cool/hip’ years: A lot discovered on Much Music, MTV2 and the internet — music as personal identity.
7. The ‘digital/eclectic’ years: Largely discovered on Amazon, iTunes and Usenet — music as supplement rather than center.

/musings.

While other sites are unveiling their exhaustive, best-of-the-year lists, I thought I’d offer a few of my favorite things from 2006*, in no particular order:

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